Descriptions

The auction system is rather rare in the world fisheries. During this three-year period, 2001-2003, fish quotas in the RFE and the North (Barents Sea) were auctioned off, with the by far largest volumes in the RFE. The main purpose of auctioning quotas for fish and marine invertebrates was to increase the share of resource rent diverted to the state budget and to distribute quotas in a transparent and fair manner. Due to several reasons, most importantly the serious deterioration of the economic situation of fishing enterprises, the auction system was abandoned. The purpose of paper is to discuss the auction system as a tool of quota allocation and analyse its impacts on the fisheries sector. One of the root causes behind the failure of the auction system was the weakness of the enforcement system.